Opinion 11/26/15 (Philippines, presidential elections, Duterte taxation, corruption, Marcos)
Inquirer on Duterte and presidential elections
For months on end, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte kept the public guessing, claiming a lack of interest in the No. 1 post as well as fatigue and a wish to retire. [...] Now, barely a month later, he announces that he has “crossed the Rubicon” and is firmly in the running. He says he changed his mind as a matter of principle because he cannot stand the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal to junk the disqualification suit against presidential candidate Grace Poe. He invokes the law, saying that the Philippines under a president who is not a natural-born Filipino is a violation of the Constitution. [...] That politicians continue to try the tricks in the books does not bode well for the nation’s future. And neither does the sight of voters lapping up the bombast and drama, the fireworks and swagger that politicians offer in lieu of a platform. The circus has truly come to town. [full page]
Sun.Star Cebu about Cebu, the mayor, city funding, and property
So you think there is no longer any impediment to the administration of Mayor Michael Rama spending the money, which by extension means the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) councilors will no longer sit on the proposed P2.8-billion Supplemental Budget (SB) 1 whose funding will be taken from the down payment? We say think again. Actually, only the naive believes in the claim by the BOPK councilors that they do not want to pass SB 1 because the court might rule in favor of Torres and declare the SRP lots sale as illegal. [full page]
Manila Bulletin
It could be defended as the party system at work, but the report that the highest officials of the Congress of the Philippines have to yield before the wishes of presidential advisers on the matter of reforming the nation’s tax rates does not speak well of a government with three supposedly co-equal and independent departments. [...] If Congress can be made to approve the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), with all its infirmities, but it cannot approve a tax law that seeks to correct an injustice to ordinary salaried people, voters just might take this as another issue to consider in their judgment of the administration and its candidates. [full page]
Philippine Star about Marcos presidency and wealth
The rare 25-carat pink diamond alone should cost more than a Philippine president could have ever earned legitimately, even if he was in power for over two decades. Apart from the barrel-shaped diamond, there are earrings and necklaces encrusted with more diamonds of several carats combined with precious gems. [...] The nation’s failure to punish anyone for the sins of the Marcos regime has to be one of the biggest reasons for the persistence of large-scale corruption, nearly 30 years after the people power revolt. As the Swiss accounts, the fine art and now the king’s ransom in jewelry show, there is enough corpus delicti to establish a serious crime. [full page]
